The Power to See Ourselves

Paul J. Brouwer

Harvard Business Review

No. 64602

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 HBR
NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 1964

The Power to See Ourselves

A psychological fact is that manager development feel, or otherwise perceive, is influenced by how we
means change in the manager’s self-concept. Each of us, see ourselves. For example:
whether we realize it or not, has a self-image. We see
ourselves in some way—smart, slow, kindly, well-inten-
tioned, lazy, misunderstood, meticulous, or shrewd; we A businessman, who had traveled in many parts
all can pick adjectives that describe ourselves. This is the of the world, was incorrigibly curious about the cus-
‘‘I’’ behind the face in the mirror, the ‘‘I’’ that thinks, toms, speech, local places of interest, history, and
dreams, talks, feels, and believes, the ‘‘I’’ that no one traditions of any place he visited. However, on a
knows fully. In this article we will explore the meaning one-week visit to London—his first—on a delicate
of the self-image, particularly in relation to changing be- mission for his company, he might just as well have
havior in growing managers, and how changes in self-
been in Indianapolis for all he learned of English
concept come about.
One reason this self-concept is crucial is that it has a
ways of life. Being on a business trip, he saw himself
great deal to do with manager development—with being as a businessman, and actually perceived little of
a growing person and eventually realizing one’s self-poten- what was around him. But as a vacationer in London
tial. Note the term manager development rather than he would have seen England in depth, because he
management development; the purpose of such develop- would have seen himself coming to London for that
ment is to help individual managers to grow. After all, purpose.
they have to do most of the job themselves. As a member
of a firm of consulting psychologists to management, I
can report that fact from experience—and add the further Photographers often slip a reddish filter over the
observation that no one can tell managers exactly how lens when snapping pictures of clouds on black and
to grow. Rather, the most one can do is to help managers white film. The filter prevents some of the light rays
understand themselves in their own situations, and then from reaching the film, so that the final picture
trust them to find the best directions themselves. shows much darker skies and more sharply whitened
clouds. The self-concept is like a filter that screens
Filters for Reality out what we do not want to hear and see, passes
through what we do want to see and hear. In the
In the first place, the self-concept is important reverse direction, it gives an idiosyncratic flavor to
because everything we do or say, everything we hear, our behavior. Don’t we all usually pick our name out
of a jumble of words on a page? Or hear our name
announced at an airport amidst all of the other
Author’s note: This article is drawn from material that will appear
as a chapter in Managers for Tomorrow, to be published in 1965 announcements that we fail to hear? This is called
by The New American Library of World Literature, Inc., New selective listening, and it is a function of our self-
York. concept. Thus, how we see ourselves determines gen-

Copyright q 1964 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved.

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 erally what we react to, what we perceive, and, in ago. Technically, she isn’t exactly the same today as
broad terms, how we behave in general. she was even yesterday. For one thing, she is one
And this shows up in business situations too. day older. She has learned something new, however
Imagine two executives, A and B, in identical situa- negligible, that becomes incorporated in her apper-
tions. Each calls in a subordinate and delegates an ceptive mass. As a result, her perception of today’s
assignment. The italicized words below give partial events is different, however slightly and unde-
indications of their self-concepts. Executive A says: tectably, from what it was yesterday. She may have
had nothing ‘‘significant’’ happen to her—no promo-
‘‘Tom, I’m concerned about our relations with the tion, no accident, no soul-searching upset—but she
XYZ Company. Its purchases from us have fallen off will be different, even though only a person with
lately and rather abruptly. You know our history Solomon’s wisdom would know it. Change in behav-
with it. Will you investigate and find out the cause ior is constant.
of the reduced volume? Let me know if you run into The difficulties managers have in thinking about
anything you don’t understand.’’ changes in behavior come from their inability to de-
tect change, and from fuzzy thinking behind such
Executive A is confident of her ability to handle comforting, though fallacious, notions as, ‘‘You can’t
the situation. She sees herself as unthreatened, able teach an old dog new tricks,’’ ‘‘He was born that
to cope with whatever Tom’s investigation discloses, way,’’ or ‘‘She’s been like that ever since I’ve known
and willing to delay action until the facts are gath- her.’’
ered and studied. On the other hand, sometimes superficial behavior
Executive B, on the other hand, says: changes are erroneously thought to be basic. For ex-
ample, consider the simplest level of change in be-
‘‘Jane, the XYZ Company has cut back its pur- havior, which is brought about by increased
chases from us for the third month in a row. We’ve knowledge or skill:
got to get on this and quick. Now, you go visit it. I
wish I could but I’m tied down here. Talk to the The newly appointed foreman learns his new du-
purchasing agent—uh, what’s her name again? Uh ties, dons a white shirt, delegates jobs he used to do
. . . (shuffling papers) . . . here it is . . . Bailey, See himself, and learns to participate in his superinten-
Bailey. Oh . . . and you’d better see the chief engi- dent’s meetings. His company provides him with
neer, a nice guy . . . named . . . uh . . . his name instruction through manuals, books, conferences,
slips me for the moment . . . you can get it from sessions with his boss, and management training
Bailey. But don’t go near Sam Awful—he’ll cover up courses. He joins the National Foremen’s Associa-
whatever’s happening anyway, and might use your tion, attends lectures, and may even be sent to a two-
visit as a sign we’re scared of old XYZ. I’ve got to week seminar at the local university. He learns much
have some answers on this one, Jane. The boss is on and becomes suitably skillful in discharging his new
my neck but good. So. . . .’’ functions. This new way of life changes the fore-
man’s behavior, of course; but only peripherally, just
Executive B is obviously less confident. He feels as living in a new house does not basically alter the
threatened by the situation. He doesn’t trust Jane marriage relation. He knows more, sees more, has
to use her own common sense—as indicated by his more and better skills.
explicit ‘‘do’’s and ‘‘don’t’’s—probably because he
himself lacks confidence. If companies do want such ‘‘simple-level’’ changes,
and only these, then management training is called
Continuing Changes for. The new zone manager learns the policy manual,
and the new vice president of manufacturing learns
Although the self-concept is important in under- how the company’s controller figures costs. These
standing human behavior generally, it becomes criti- specific learnings are the objectives of training, and
cally so in understanding manager development, can become changes in behavior produced by train-
where changes in behavior are the objective. As a ing.
matter of cold, hard, psychological fact, a change in
behavior on the job, for better or worse, means a
Keystone for Growth
change in self-concept. Thus, we are dealing with an
immensely and immediately practical consideration. If, however, a company wants growth in the deeper
Human beings constantly change their behavior, sense, then something more subtle and basic in its
as we see if we examine ourselves (and others) criti- impact is called for in the manager development ef-
cally enough. It is a superficial observation to say fort. Such deeper growth is, of course, a change in
that so-and-so is the same person she was five years self-concept. Managers who once were unreliable in

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 their judgment or who lacked drive grow toward re- tion, the psychological discomfort, the basic conflict
liability in judgment or toward stronger drive. in self-concepts, may show in his or her behavior—
Growth in this sense brings observable changes in being unduly critical of business associates (or subor-
outward behavior, because each person is now in- dinates) who will not follow this example and give
wardly different—different, for example, in self-per- up their family life during the week; resenting the
ception, in attitude toward job and company as both children, who blithely go about their own activities
relate to his or her own life, or in a feeling of responsi- on the weekend, ignoring their parents. And if by
bility for others. chance the teen-age child develops any emotional
But experience shows that such growth is as diffi- problems which are ascribed to ‘‘parental neglect,’’
cult to achieve as it is desirable. It demands the full- our person really hits the ceiling! ‘‘Neglect? How
fledged participation of the manager. Actually the can that be? Haven’t I given my children every week-
trite expression, ‘‘Management development is self- end?’’
development,’’ is psychologically sound. Growing
managers change because they want to and because In the deeper sense, conflicts lie behind many self-
they have to in response to new insights and under- concepts, but it is beyond our scope to explore them.
standings gained on the job. They do not change In an individual case, this is a matter for professional
because they are told to, exhorted to, or because it study and expert handling. By definition, effective,
is the thing to do. consistent behavior is integrated behavior, while un-
Such growth implies changes within people—in integrated behavior is the behavior of conflict.
how they use their knowledge, in the ends to which
they apply their skills, and, in short, in their view Unrealism in Self-concept
of themselves. The point is clear that growing people In addition to conflicts between self-concepts as
examine themselves; and as they do so, they emerge a cause of ineffective behavior, there is the crucial
with new depths of motivation, a sharper sense of matter of disparity between ‘‘how I see myself’’ and
direction, and a more vital awareness of how they ‘‘how others see me.’’ Unrealistic self-appraisal has
want to live on the job. Growth in this sense is per- cost many a manager his or her job. Think of people
sonalized and vital. And such growth in self-concept you know who have been fired, eased out, or moved
is at the heart of a real manager development effort. laterally because they no longer ‘‘seemed up to the
But growth in self-concept is not always simple job.’’ Has there not been in many such cases the
and clear. subtle flavor of unadaptability, of a rigid inability in
a manager to adjust his or her sights to a new role
Conflicts in Self-concept as times have changed?
Most familiar are the unnecessarily tragic cases of
Each human being is several selves, living comfort-
those who cannot grow old gracefully. Next are those
ably in the role of father or mother, husband or wife,
uncounted misfits who fail through lack of realistic
business person, president, golfer, bridge player, the
insight into their true worth. For example, take the
life of the party, and so on. But if there are conflicts good vice president who flunks as president because
among any of these roles, then discomfort arises.
he never realized his inability to endure the rigors
And such conflict brings with it such dynamics as of being top person. There are endless instances of
tension, guilt feelings, and compensation. Let us il-
failures owing to a disparity between ‘‘who I am’’
lustrate with a familiar example: and ‘‘who I think I am.’’
Unfortunately, not only outright failure may come
A person sees him- or herself both as a good parent from disparities in self-concept; more insidious is
and a good business person. As a parent, he or she the effect of partial or fuzzy self-appraisal. In fact, if
spends time with the children; but as a business per- the proposition is right that realism in the individu-
son, the time demands can be overwhelming. Now al’s self-view has a one-to-one relationship with ef-
what can be done? It obviously is not possible to be fectiveness on the job, then it surely follows that all
home most evenings with the family and also be of us can improve our effectiveness by the simple
out of town on necessary business trips. Both self- expedient of developing a more realistic, more accu-
concepts cannot be realized simultaneously. So what rate self-concept!
happens? The business gets the time Monday In short, the more realistic one’s view of oneself,
through Friday, and the family gets the weekends. the more guaranteed is personal effectiveness. Here
This seems like an easy resolution. What, then, is is an example that underscores this point:
the problem? The person in our example has had
to modify both self-concepts and may feel deeply George H., the vice president of sales for a $50-
dissatisfied with such a necessity. So the dissatisfac- million company with a staff of 250 sales and service

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 people, was in serious organizational trouble. The who is able to make a contribution to the ‘‘mix’’ of
group had increased in size so rapidly that it had key executives. Consequently, many companies, in
long since outgrown its organizational pattern. There selecting their handpicked future executives, feed in
were constant complaints such as: ‘‘Whom do I work ‘‘trainees’’ with liberal arts degrees. They are looking
for?’’ ‘‘Nobody knows whether I’m doing well or for the people, not their knowledge or special skills.
poorly.’’ ‘‘We haven’t any system to follow in service By the same token, as the young people grow, it is
to customers.’’ The executives under George tried their self-concept that will change and come more
valiantly to do twice and three times as much as into line with what they are becoming in relation to
they had always done. The situation was, frankly, a their potential. It is on the basis of their self-concept
mess. that young people emerge as top executives. To twist
George as a person was well liked and respected. an old adage, it isn’t what you know that finally
He was democratic, attentive to others, soft-spoken, counts; it’s who you are.
unlikely to ‘‘order,’’ always likely to ‘‘suggest,’’ and
unsure of himself as an administrator. In general he
Natural Resistance
was a person who saw himself as a stimulator and
coordinator of his people, an excellent personal sales- But there is still one big question to answer. If
person, but not a supervisor. Somehow he had com- changes in the self-concept of the executive are desir-
pletely missed sensing that his people waited for able, just what brings them about? In fact, are
directions from him. He felt that a sensible district changes in self-concept possible? Of course changes
sales manager should know what to do. His own are possible, but there is one obvious block to growth.
perception of himself and his people’s perception of Even when executives want to change, the lurking
him as vice president of sales were poles apart. suspicion that such effort is futile tends to vitiate
The impasse was breached when an outsider on the process of change. Faint mutterings of self-dis-
whom George relied heavily (and who also had the content tend to get quashed by the notion that ‘‘an
confidence of the top people in the department) fi- old dog can’t learn new tricks.’’ And the basic com-
nally told him bluntly, ‘‘George, your people are wait- fort of the status quo seems to outweigh the value
ing for you to clear the air. They’ll follow any of the new mode of behavior.
organizational plan you want them to. This step only One reason for such feelings of resistance is that,
you can take. They respect you and want your leader- psychologically, the mature person resists change.
ship. They value you. Don’t ask them; tell them, for By definition, the self-concept is an organization or
goodness’ sake, how you’re going to organize their patterning of attitudes, habits, knowledge, drives,
activities.’’ and the like. And also, by definition, the fact of orga-
George tried to integrate this new dimension into nization means a cementing together of all these
his self-concept. At first, he swung to one extreme complex components.
and ‘‘got tough’’: He made explicit, directive de- For example, people who for many years have been
mands; he swore; he told everybody, in effect, ‘‘I want highly and aggressively competitive cannot, except
what I want when I want it—and that’s right now!’’ with difficulty, either suddenly or gradually become
But soon he abandoned his pretense and absorbed insightfully cooperative; they will still tend to see
into his self-concept the new ‘‘take-charge’’ aspect themselves as needing to surpass others. They retain
of his functioning. He defined an organizational plan, a pattern, a consistency, and basic characteristics;
set up policies and procedures which sorted out sales and in this sense resist change. Indeed, this is a good
and service duties, discussed them fully with all in- thing, or we still would all be going through the
volved, and said, in effect, ‘‘This is it. Let’s go.’’ throes of ‘‘finding ourselves’’ as we did as adoles-
cents.
This example is, of course, an oversimplification; When mature people change, therefore, they do so
it highlights the fact that disparity in perception can against a natural resistance; but whether this resis-
reduce managerial effectiveness. What George saw tance is a deeply stabilizing influence that helps
himself to be in the office of vice president of sales them to retain their basic direction and character, or
precluded his seeing the needs of his people. And whether it is a cocoon that makes them unreachable,
this blind spot nearly cost him prolonged chaos, if is a moot question. Resistance, though built in, may
not the loss of his job. thus be either a roadblock or a gyroscope.
Finally, it is manifestly clear that change in self- We have noted that changes in the self-concept of
concept as a function of executive growth has a pay- executives are ‘‘gut-level,’’ not peripheral. They are
off. Recall situations where a critical appointment changes in perception and attitude and understand-
has to be made. Who gets the nod? Usually it is the ing, not changes in knowledge or experience or skills.
one who as a person is thought to have potential and So our exploration of how change occurs must in-

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 clude those factors which seem to operate more Self-expectation
deeply within the individual and which polarize new
As individuals raise their sights for themselves, as
directions and behaviors. We are looking for those
they get insights into the direction in which they
basic vital factors which, as they operate, really
want to grow, as they ‘‘see’’ themselves in a particular
change people beyond their power of dissimulation
respect they do not like, then they are changing their
or pretense. This is change in the fundamental
self-expectations. (This is the next step.) New de-
makeup of people, not change in their apparel. When
mands on themselves are set up, not by anyone else,
such changes occur, the person is different.
just by themselves. This is another way of saying
what the theologians insist on, namely, that a convic-
tion of sin precedes salvation. Or, as the psycholo-
Steps to Maturity gists put it, first accept the fact that you have the
problem—not anyone else—and then you are ready
Let us be clear about one point. Growth does not to find a solution. Here are two cases that illustrate
proceed in clear-cut, discrete, logical steps. Some- the importance of self-expectation through insight:
times it occurs in inexplicable spurts; at other times,
with agonizing slowness. There are cases where real Mary D. was a chronic complainer. Nothing was
learning is so deeply unconscious that no overt be- ever her fault. She frequently and self-pityingly in-
havior change shows up for a long time. Even regres- veighed against her boss, her subordinates, her peers,
sions will occur, as when an adolescent, perhaps and the competition. She was capable, knowledge-
troubled by a day’s activities, will sleep with a special able, a hard worker, critical. And never once, when
blanket as he or she did at age six. The process of she sang the old refrain, ‘‘Why does this always hap-
growth is a nebulous, multifactored, fluid, dynamic pen to me?’’ did an inner voice whisper back, ‘‘It’s
process, often astounding, and usually only partially no different for you, old girl, than for anyone else.
controllable. It’s just the way you take it.’’
But for the sake of discussion, and understanding, Efforts by her boss and her friends to develop some
we can postulate a sequence of steps. insight in Mary seemed wasted. Logical explana-
tions, patiently made, were of course futile. Anger
Self-examination toward her only proved to her she was picked on.
Gentle tolerance only gave her a bigger pool to wal-
If we were to attempt a systematic analysis of what low in.
happens when growth in managers occurs, we would One day in a meeting of executives to find answers
need to begin with self-examination. For here indi- to a particular crisis that had hit everyone (an unex-
viduals first know that they don’t know or first get pected price slash by a major competitor), she held
an inkling that they wish their behavior were differ- forth at length on the uselessness of market research,
ent in some respect. They are forced, either by cir- on the futility of keeping a ‘‘pipeline’’ on the compet-
cumstance or their own conscious introspection, to itor’s situation, on how her department (sales)
look at themselves critically. This is what happens couldn’t be blamed for not anticipating the vagaries
when golfers see movies of their swing, or when a of the competition’s pricing policy, and so on. She
parent scolds a child by saying, ‘‘Just look at your- finally stopped. And, as though by prearrangement,
self—all dirty.’’ Or when the supervisor’s thickly the whole group, perhaps in complete disgust at her
veiled anger over a subordinate’s sloppy work finally immaturity and irrelevance, sat in stony silence.
becomes known. People see themselves every time At length the silence became so oppressive that it
they look in the mirror, but do they really examine suddenly dawned on the complainer that she was
what they see? Do they appraise and evaluate and just that—an immature complainer. She recalled the
study what manner of people they are? words of her colleagues and her own dim awareness
The function of self-examination is to lay the that she did complain a lot. Insight finally occurred.
groundwork for insight, without which no growth At long last she was ready to begin to grow out of
can occur. Insight is the ‘‘oh, I see now’’ feeling which her immaturity. She saw (and disliked) herself at this
must, consciously or unconsciously, precede change point. Now her growth could become self-directed;
in behavior. Insights—real, genuine glimpses of our- she could easily find many opportunities to quash
selves as we really are—are reached only with diffi- feelings of self-pity and to face reality in a more
culty and sometimes with real psychic pain. But they stateswomanlike fashion, because now she expected
are the building blocks of growth. Thus self-examina- more stateswomanlike attitudes of herself.
tion is a preparation for insight, a groundbreaking
for the seeds of self-understanding which gradually Pete B., age 58, was vice president of engineering
bloom into changed behavior. of a company that made fine-quality capital goods

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 equipment. He had been with his company 35 years. and automation procedures. His growth began with
He was a good engineer, who knew the product inside a new self-expectation.
out; and through the years he had learned to know
the customers, too. He felt proud of and personally Change in Self-expectation
involved in each installation of the product. It was
not unusual to see him on an evening, coatless and How do people get a new self-demand, a new self-
with his tie loose, perched on a stool before a drafting expectation? How do they find out that their self-
board, surrounded by young engineers, digging at a concept is inadequate? How do people know not only
tough installation problem. While some thought that they can be different but should be as well?
Pete did too much himself, others felt that with him Unfortunately for those who like recipes or formulas,
on the job the customer would be satisfied. such questions are perennially bothersome because
About four years ago, however, the president, there is no one best way.
whose family owned the company, sold it to a large What can be done to stimulate change in self-ex-
corporation, and the company became a wholly pectation besides honest, realistic, self-appraising
owned subsidiary. One allied product line was ac- introspection? In the business context, the construc-
quired, then another. Finally Pete’s department was tive pointing up of executives’ needs for growth by
asked to do the engineering work for several subsidi- their superiors is a tremendous source of insight. The
aries that were not set up to do their own. emphasis, of course, is on the word constructive,
Now Pete’s job had changed, subtly but surely, and which means helpful, insightful ideas from the supe-
trouble began to brew for Pete because he couldn’t rior and not, as so often happens, a ceremonial, judg-
seem to change with the situation. mental, ‘‘I’ll tell you what I think about you’’
Psychologically, Pete saw himself as a one-person appraisal.
department (with assistants as trainees) who person- A further source of insight is husbands and wives—
ally engineered the product for the customer, his the perceptive ones, that is. Perceptive ones have
friend. He resisted the impersonality of working on unique ways of jerking spouses up short when their
engineering problems of ‘‘sister companies’’ whose self-images become distorted.
customers and products he barely knew and cared In fact, anything which enables people to get a new
less about. The new fangled system of a ‘‘home of- perception—reading, observing, studying, going to
fice’’ engineering vice president who was ‘‘staff’’ conferences, attending meetings, and participating
seemed to him just another unnecessary complica- in clubs—can provide insight into themselves. Out
tion. Nothing worked the way it used to. He saw of insight comes change in self-expectation.
himself bypassed by progress and change. And, of course, life situations which are kaleido-
So, unconsciously, he began to resist and to fight. scopic always enable perceptive people to see them-
His yearning for the ‘‘good old days’’ subconsciously selves in a new light. Here is another example:
forced him to run faster and faster in order to know
more customers and more product lines; to work Katherine W. was acutely self-critical, often to the
more evenings; to press new systems into the form point where her fear of failure immobilized her. She
of old procedures. And, of course, he began to slip, delayed decisions, fussed endlessly with details, and
and badly. Gradually, Pete was viewed by his superi- generally strained to be perfect. In time her relation
ors as ‘‘good old Pete, but let’s not get him in on this with the psychologist, who genuinely accepted her
matter or he’ll have to take it over himself and we’ll without criticism, praise, blame, or hostility, enabled
get bogged down,’’ and by his subordinates as a fine her to ‘‘see’’ how her self-critical attitudes really
fellow, but stodgy and old-fashioned. stemmed from her self-pride. She felt she had to be
Fortunately, before the situation compelled a perfect because it was ‘‘safer’’ to be free from criti-
major organizational shift, Pete took stock of his cism and failure. But she finally ‘‘rejoined the human
situation, and really saw himself as he was. He got race’’ and demanded of herself only that she do her
the insight that his self-image of a kind of personal best. The insight that she was human after all freed
engineer was no longer applicable to the corpora- her to change her self-expectations.
tion’s greatly expanded needs. And right then, with
this new glimpse of himself (and the courage and
Self-direction
self-honesty to face it), he began to change. He started
by focusing on how his years of experience could be People are masters of their own destiny in the
applied to the coaching of his subordinates. He put sense that they take charge of their own development
himself in the shoes of the staff vice president and if they want to grow. Nothing can be done to them
could then see how to mesh gears better. Then he to make them grow; they grow only as they want to
stopped resisting the new fangled data processing and as their own insights enable them to.

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 The changes in self-concept that executives un- view.’’ The former production supervisor, now a vice
dergo must continue primarily through their own president, is derided by the people in sales for his
self-direction. It is clear that many development pro- attitude of ‘‘We’ll make it at low cost; it’s up to you
grams miss their mark badly at this point. They make to sell it, and don’t bother me with special runs for
the naive assumption that exposure to experiences special customers or model changes—sell ’em.’’ Both
or people or books or courses is enough to produce people suffer from constraint of the self-concept:
growth. Not so. They effect change in the partici- they perceive their jobs (and themselves) too nar-
pants only as they reach out and appropriate some- rowly. For instance:
thing—a bit of wisdom, a new idea, or a new
concept—that stretches them, and gives them an- A vice president of sales was brought in from out-
swers to their own self-generated problem. side the company to gear up the effort of merchandis-
Put another way, we might say that, just as learn- ing a new line of products. He did a magnificent job,
ing is impossible without motivation, so real execu- old pro that he was, of shaping up and vitalizing a
tive development is impossible unless executives sales force. Volume of sales picked up excellently,
seek it. Furthermore, the strength of their desire is and he was the hero of the hour.
infinitely stronger if they seek development because But after a year, when he felt on top of his job,
they want to develop than if they are merely trying some of his attitudes and habits reasserted them-
to please their bosses or do what is expected of them. selves, annoying others and stalling progress. For in-
As any teacher knows, the pupils who listen and stance, he persisted in making frequent references
learn merely in order to pass the course are far poorer to his former (and larger) company. He climbed on
learners than those who want to learn. manufacturing for delivery delays, and on research
Fundamentally, this is the age-old problem of mo- and engineering for perfectionism before releasing
tivation, of keeping steam up in the boiler. The main- the specifications for what he felt were needed prod-
tenance of a growing edge, as executives emerge from uct changes. The time it took to explain to him,
insight to insight to realize their potential, is a con- pacify him, and argue with him was ill-spent and
sequence of intrinsic motivation. They are driven futile. He was rapidly becoming a block in the path
toward unrealized objectives, perhaps toward unreal- of progress.
izable goals. One day the president approached him directly.
After developing insight into themselves in rela- ‘‘George,’’ said the president, ‘‘what’s your title?’’
tion to what they want to be, the power that keeps ‘‘Why,’’ said George, puzzled, ‘‘vice president of
executives growing is the veritable necessity of doing sales.’’
things that to them are intrinsically, basically, and ‘‘Right. And what does vice president mean to
lastingly worthwhile. Growing executives are so be- you?’’
cause they derive their strength and desire and drive George paused. What was the president getting at?
from inner, unachieved goals; and their satisfactions ‘‘Well,’’ he said, ‘‘it means a lot of things, I guess.
from self-realization. This is intrinsic motivation as Responsibility for sales, building a. . . .’’
it relates to self-concept. ‘‘Stop right there,’’ interrupted the president. ‘‘Re-
sponsibility for sales, you say. True in a way. But
sales managers also have this responsibility, don’t
Broadened perceptions
they?’’
The dynamics of this factor of growth are very ‘‘Well, yes.’’
clear: people must see themselves in relation to their ‘‘Then what do the words vice president mean in
environment, both personal and impersonal, and your title?’’
must develop their image of themselves partly in ‘‘Oh, I see. . . . Well, I guess they mean seeing or
response to what they see around them. So if they having responsibility for the sales function of the
see a very small world (as a child does), their concept company from the point of view of the company . . .
of themselves must necessarily be narrow; if they that part of your office.’’
seem themselves as citizens of the world (as a world ‘‘You got my point before I mentioned it, George,’’
traveler might), their self-concept embraces the said the president. ‘‘Vice presidents speak from the
world. This is the difference between the real provin- company point of view, not just of their departments.
cial, such as a hillbilly, and the true sophisticate. They try to keep the overall good of the company in
A most common complaint of superiors is that mind.’’
subordinates are too narrow in their outlooks. For George thought this conversation over. He got the
example, the sales manager promoted to vice presi- point. He realized the narrowness of his own view.
dent of sales irritates her peers in manufacturing He had been thinking of himself as ‘‘on loan’’ from
or research by having ‘‘only a salesperson’s point of his former employer to straighten things out here. As

8 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW November–December 1964

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Richa Saxena, Prof. Bindu Gupta & Prof. Nidhi Yadav's PGP/IMTG/2021/309 (1) at Institute of Management Technology - Ghaziabad (IMT)
from Jul 2021 to Dec 2021.
 he pondered the president’s comments, he broadened sense, the self-concept of the strong executive is a
his perception of job—and of himself. And sometime constantly evolving, changing thing as they continu-
later he began to act as an office of the total company. ously realize themselves. This is, indeed, genuine
growth and the kind that continues until senescence
sets in.
Self-realization Power
Can all people aspire to be this strong—to accom-
It is not enough, however, just to see ourselves plish such a self-realization? Of course not. But grow-
as we are now. Such understanding is a necessary ing people (by definition) have unrealized power if
starting point, or basis on which to build. But we their self-concept, their self-expectation, their self-
must also see what our real selves could be, and grow direction, and their constantly broadening percep-
into that. tions (wisdom) allow them to find it. The difference
The strong people of history have had one psycho- between a strong person and a weak person may not
logical characteristic in common: they seem always be a difference in ability, for many clerks have keen
to have been themselves as persons— intelligence; or in drive, for many ambitious people
get nowhere; or in opportunity, for somehow, strong
people make opportunity. No, the difference lies in
. . . Beethoven, continuing to compose after he
self-concept. How much do I value my life? What do
became deaf;
I want to do with it? What must I do to be myself?
. . . Milton, who didn’t allow blindness to inter-
Strong people have emerged with clear-cut answers
fere with his writing;
to such questions; weak ones equivocate and tempo-
. . . Keller, becoming a lecturer on opportunities
rize and never dare.
for the handicapped despite being both deaf and
Thus growth, finally, is the evolvement of personal
blind.
goals and the sense of venture in pursuing them. This
is the meaning of dedicated people. Their personal
Such people have given meaning to the phrase, goals, their company goals, and their job goals have
‘‘fulfilling one’s destiny.’’ coincidence to a great extent; and their personal
In less dramatic form, strong executives fulfill power is directed singlemindedly toward seeing
themselves as they live lives that are an unfolding themselves in relation to the fulfillment of their ex-
of their potential. They must be themselves. In this ecutive potential.

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW November–December 1964 9

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Richa Saxena, Prof. Bindu Gupta & Prof. Nidhi Yadav's PGP/IMTG/2021/309 (1) at Institute of Management Technology - Ghaziabad (IMT)
from Jul 2021 to Dec 2021.